Stale Beer and Salty Peanuts
by snoozin81
Summary: OneShot. Ellie silenced him with a kiss: fire, passion, the taste of stale beer and salty peanuts. His hand slid further up her thigh as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Somewhere in the distance a cord ripped through the dense fog of smoke as Craig


The room was dim, whether it was from the actual lighting or the thick layer of smoke hovering in the air she wasn't sure. She quickly made her way to an empty table on the other side of the room doing her best not to make eye contact with any of the roughnecks. She couldn't believe she'd let him talk her into this. The smell of cheap liquor brought back a million tainted memories, ones she'd rather have forgotten. 

"Ellie?" A familiar voice asked, drawing her attention away from the dirty table in front of her.

"Oh my God, Craig?" she asked surprised to see him. She quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around her old friend's neck. "What are you doing here?"

Craig laughed as he stepped back and looked Ellie over, "I was about to ask you the same question. This place doesn't exactly scream Ellie Nash."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Ellie started with a nervous chuckle. She looked down at the floor littered with peanut shells and tucked an auburn lock behind her ear. "I'm just meeting someone. A friend."

Craig cocked his eyebrow inquisitively, "Here? I guess college really HAS changed you."

Ellie nodded offering him a friendly smile, "Your turn. What are you doing here?"

Craig motioned to the table and they both sat down. He flung his arms out indicating the bar around them and said with disgust, "This is the last stop on the tour from hell. We head back to Vancouver in the morning."

"Come on, Craig, it can't be that bad." Ellie offered. "You're following your dreams. Touring, recording, it's what you wanted." 

"Playing sets in dinky little redneck bars was not what I wanted. I just…I thought it would be different, you know?" Craig replied with a sad smile.

"I do." Ellie started. "Sometimes things just don't turn out the way we want them to." 

Craig reached across the table and took Ellie's hand in his, letting their fingers intertwine. "I miss home. I miss you." 

Ellie felt the familiar tingle spin down her spine at Craig's touch. She quickly pulled her hand away, "Craig, I…"

"Found someone else." Craig finished for her.

Ellie nodded, looking up into Craig's brown eyes, "I miss you too Craig, but I couldn't just wait around forever."

"I hope this guy knows how lucky he is." Craig started scrapping his chair back and standing up. He leaned down and gently kissed Ellie on the forehead, "It really was good seeing you, El. You should stick around for the show. We're not half bad, a definite step up from Downtown Sasquach."

Ellie smiled a genuine smile as Craig made his way through the growing crowd and disappeared behind the stage. She did a quick scan of the room for her date but didn't see him. A glace at her watch told her he was already a half hour late. She sighed before standing up and heading towards the door.

"Looking for me?" someone asked as Ellie was walking past the bar. She turned around to find herself looking into his sparkling blue eyes, a cocky smirk lining his lips.

"I was beginning to think you stood me up." Ellie replied, slipping onto the barstool next to him. She should have been angry or irritated but she wasn't.

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips, sliding his hand up her knee to rest on her thigh, "Stand up a good looking redhead? That would never happen."

Ellie rolled her eyes, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She spotted the empty glass in front of him and asked in confusion, "How long have you been here?" 

"Long enough." he replied, evasively motioning to the bartender to bring two more drinks.

Ellie turned his chin so he was facing her, "Long enough for what?"

He shrugged, picking up the fresh glass the bartender had set in front of him. He took a long drink before replying, "Long enough to tell whether or not you still have a thing for the rockstar."

"You knew he was going to be here?" she asked a little surprised.

He nodded, "I overheard Spinner talking about it at The Dot the other night."

Ellie smiled mischievously, "And are you convinced?"

"I don't know." he teased. "I mean he's got a lot more to offer than I do. Fame, fortune, a promising future…."

Ellie silenced him with a kiss: fire, passion, the taste of stale beer and salty peanuts. His hand slid further up her thigh as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Somewhere in the distance a cord ripped through the dense fog of smoke as Craig's voice belted out the first lyrics of a song. Ellie slid her lips up his cheek to rest right beside his ear.

"Jay," she whispered. "Are you convinced now?"


End file.
